Upgrade advice, please.

Hi all,
I'm wanting to get into computer audio recording but before I start buying audio gear, I figure I need a computer upgrade, as my present system is five years old. My question is whether it makes financial and technical sense to revamp my current machine, or whether or not I should just buy something new. I figure I need:

1) a new motherboard (an upgrade to a reasonably fast dual core CPU - possible?)
2) more RAM
3) a more quiet fan (my present one is so noisy I couldn't consider using a microphone in the same room with it - is that possible?)
4) other suggestions y'all might have.

Here's what I have now:
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (build 2600)
2.80 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
16 kilobyte primary memory cache
1024 kilobyte secondary memory cache
Not hyper-threaded
1024 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
140.00 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
82.98 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

 

Yes it makes sense to REVAMP your machine, you could get a dual core cpu, new motherboard and 4GB ram for around $150, your not going to get a new pc for around that price
You already have the case, dvd drive, HDD and peripherals so your saving some money here.
Also at the moment are you using integrated graphics or a dedicated card?

 

You may not even need a new motherboard. If you could post the make and model of your current MB, we can research it and see if it's capable of supporting a decent CPU upgrade. Also, double your memory to 2gb is strongly recommended. Since you have 32bit operating system, installing anything over 3gb of memory won't be recognized, so I think that 4gb would be a bit of a waste, but whatever. 32bit architecture is such that a max of 3.25gb or 3.5 gb of RAM is addressable and the only way to change this is to upgrade to a 64bit operating system....

 

Thanks folks, and sorry not to have gotten back to you sooner. Regarding the main circuit board, here's what I got:

Board: MICRO-STAR INC. MS-6728 2.00
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. V3.6 03/23/2004

Here's my current graphics situation"

NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 (Microsoft Corporation) [Display adapter]

Does that help?
Also, any suggestions on where to buy RAM and whatever's best for upgrading the CPU?
No comments on the fan - does that mean that that's not an easily do-able fix?

Thanks much - Sam

 

Hi ,
I want advice on two issues
1. I have a system with quad core Q6600 , i am going for INTEL DP45SG and DDR-3 rams , and is this a right choice , i dont want to switch to core i7 just yet

2. I am buying EVGA Geforce GTX 275 , or should i wait for GDDR5 GPU ( will be launch end of this year), does they make any difference in the future of gaming

 

@ Zarrukh: please start your own thread. Even though you have questions about upgrading and need advice, you really should start your own thread. When other members visit this thread, they do so looking to respond to the original thread starter, member Callicles. Having your questions in the middle of this simply confuses the situation for everybody involved. So, in the future, start a new thread.

Hopefully an admin or moderator will see this and move Zarrukh's post to it's own thread.

@ Callicles: I'm doing some research now, I'll post back in a little while.

:-D

 

Thanks, dlb - I appreciate your efforts. - Sam

 

i will shift , i need advice , thanks

 

Here's a link to a list of supported processors for your motherboard: http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodcpusupport&maincat_no=1&prod_no=600#menu You can use Pentium 4 CPUs up through the Prescott model 672. You cannot use releases newer than the Prescott like the CedarMill, Smithfield, Presler, etc. However, many great CPUs from the Prescott series can be used, but you may need to flash the BIOS to the newest available version first. As to video cards, the FX5200 is fairly low-end by today's standards, but you're kind of "stuck" with the AGP slot, so some of the better choices for an AGP card would be one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102730 (256bit)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131141 (256bit)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125281
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150433
. . . and here's a link to all the AGP cards available at Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...609639&page=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True You want to try to get a 256bit card if possible, I already linked to the two available at Newegg, but if you look elsewhere, 256bit is what you're after, but since AGP is an aging format, your choices for high end video cards will be limited. As to the system memory, it looks like the motherboard has 4 slots in dual channel, and accepts up to 4gb total, or 1gb per slot of DDR400 memory. You can buy 'kits' of memory so you get matched sticks like this set. Here's the link to all DDR memory at Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=2010170147 1052107965&name=184-Pin DDR SDRAM When buying memory, be absolutely certain to NOT get DDR2. You must get plain ol' DDR, it may be listed as DDR333 or DDR400. If in doubt, post here and we'll try to advise. You might also want to think about just getting all new gear: new motherboard, CPU, memory, video card. You can get a great system for under $400 that would beat out your system if upgraded, and upgrading your current system still keeps you stuck with aging hardware. The AGP slot, the socket 478 for the CPU, and the DDR memory are all more-or-less out of date....

:-D

(when upgrading the CPU, try to buy a chip that comes with its own cooler/fan; chances are, your current CPU cooler won't do a good job on a higher end CPU and keeping the CPU cool is very important; if you need a new cooler for the new CPU, just post and we'll try to help )

 

Yep so your not gonna get great performance upgrading what you already have due to the motherboard limitations. Like I said in my previous post you could get a decent system running for around $150, this would include a new mobo, cpu and ram Also what will be your primary use of the PC, you might need to buy a graphics card.

Dacads

 

Thanks much dlb and Dacads for your efforts on my behalf. Given the limitations of the motherboard, as Dacads says, it seems like an extensive overhaul might be the way to go. dlb, what did you have in mind regarding the "great system for under $400" you referred to? - Sam